Color negative type photographic light sensitive materials for photographic use have been demanded to improve the characteristics from various viewpoints. Particularly, the high image qualities such as color reproducibility, graininess and sharpness thereof have been demanded in keeping with the popularization of the recent small-format system.
In the recent color photography, the so-called negative-positive system has been widely popularized, wherein a picture is taken on a color negative film, enlarged on a photographic light sensitive material for color print use and the color print is obtained. One of the reasons is that color films have an extremely low possibility of picture-taking failures and even any common users without having any special knowledge can readily take color photographs, because the films have an extremely wide exposure latitude. This is one of the great features of the negative-positive system, different from reversal films. In the color-negative films, it is essential to have a wide latitude as well as the above-mentioned improvements of graininess and sharpness.
About the color reproducibility, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,725,067 and Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection (hereinafter referred to as JP OPI Publication) Nos. 58-42045/1983, 59-171956/1984, 60-43659/1985 and 60-190779/1985 disclose the techniques for improving color reproducibility with the use of the magenta couplers without having any secondary absorption.
The magenta couplers disclosed in the above-given patents have incomparably improved particularly in bright red-color reproduction. However, the development process variations and, particularly, these patented techniques have a serious color-density variation produced by the pH variations of a developer.
The present inventors have discovered that the so-called process variation improving agents such as those described in JP Application No. 1-263938/1989 are effective against the above-mentioned problem.
In color photographic light sensitive materials, each of yellow, magenta and cyan dyes formed of couplers has not always any ideal absorption characteristics. For example, it is usual that a magenta dye image absorbs necessary green light and, besides, some blue light. Therefore, the resulting color reproduction produces a strain. For removing the above-mentioned strain, a yellow- or magenta-colored coupler is used before making a reaction with the oxidized product of an aromatic primary amine color developing agent, wherein the former is the so-called colored magenta coupler and the latter is the so-called colored cyan coupler.
About the auto-masking methods using the above-mentioned colored couplers therein, they are detailed in, for example, J.Phot.Soc.Am., 13, 94 (1947), J.Opt.Soc.Am., 40, 166 (1950) or J.Am.Chem.Soc., 72, 1533 (1950).
As for the colored magenta couplers having the principal absorption in a blue light region; 1-phenyl-3-acylamino-4-phenylazo-5-pyrazolone is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,428,054 and 2,449,966; those having a 4-methoxyallylazo group, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,763,552; 1-phenyl-3-anilino-4-phenylazo-5-pyrazolone, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,983,608; those having a naphthylazo group, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,519,429 and 3,615,506; those having a water-soluble group, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,044,778; those having a hydroxyphenylazo group, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,564 and JP OPI Publication Nos. 49-123625/1974, 49-131448/1974 and 54-52532/1979; those having an acylaminophenylazo group, in JP OPI Publication No. 52-42121/1977; those having a substituted alkoxyphenylazo group, in JP OPI Publication No. 52-102723/1977; and those having a thiophenylazo group, in JP OPI Publication No. 53-63016/1978; respectively.
However, for example, a large amount of these colored magenta couplers are to be added because they have a small molar absorption coefficient; the principal absorption thereof is difficult to adjust to a desired region; they have not so much masking effects thereof, because of the low development activity thereof; a fog is liable to produce, though the development activity is high; the stabilities thereof against light, heat and moisture are low; or the magenta dyes produced upon reaction with a color developing agent have a short wavelength. Therefore, they are not desirable as much as satisfied and the present situations are that the characteristics of the colored magenta couplers can barely be maintained by using them in combination. Particularly, the characteristics of the colored magenta couplers have been emphatically required in recent years, since a high-speed fine-grained silver halide emulsion and a high-color developable magenta coupler were used.
On the other hand, novel magenta couplers have been studied with the purposes of reducing a sub-absorption and improving a color reproducibility. For example, the pyrazoloazole type magenta couplers were developed such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,725,065, 3,810,761, 3,758,309 and 3,725,067. These magenta couplers have a small sub-absorption. Therefore, the amount of the colored magenta couplers used therein can be saved. However, in the case where a color negative obtained from a color negative film is used for printing on a color negative paper, it was found that the hue came out on the finished color paper becomes erratic (hereinafter referred to as the inter-printer variations), according to the usage of various printing equipments (hereinafter referred to as printers).
The above-mentioned phenomenon may be observed in other conventional couplers. However, the degrees of the phenomenon is too low to be problematic. On the other hand, when making use of a pyrazoloazole type magenta couplers, it was found that the erratic hue of a finished color paper is not on a negligible level depending on the different types of printers used.
The above-mentioned phenomenon is supposedly produced by the following reasons. When making a print from a color negative film onto a color paper by making use of a printer, the printer functions as follows: (1) the blue, green and red densities of a color negative film are measured, respectively; (2) then, the measured values are converted into the exposure amount for the color paper; and (3) the color paper is exposed to light in the above-mentioned exposure amount. On the market, various types of printers are available and used. According to the types of the printers, there may be some instances where the spectral sensitivity of a detector used may be varied when it measures the rays of light described in item (1), and where an erratic hue may be produced because a half-band width, for example, is too narrow according to the spectral absorption characteristics of a color developing dye contained in a color negative film or because the spectral absorption characteristics are varied by the densities.
Some of the above-described pyrazoloazole type magenta couplers are seriously varied by the densities of the spectral absorption characteristics thereof. This is one of the reasons for making an inter-printer variation greater when a pyrazoloazole type magenta coupler is used in a color negative film. Further, these pyrazoloazole type magenta couplers have been demanded to be improved, because they have the serious development process variations including, particularly, the serious color density variation produced by the pH variations of a developer used.
In silver halide color photographic light sensitive materials, the subtractive primaries are used at present, wherein a color image is formed by a combination of three dyes derived from a yellow coupler, a magenta coupler and a cyan coupler.
As for the magenta couplers applicable to conventional silver halide color photographic light sensitive materials, those of the pyrazolone, pyrazolinobenzimidazole or indanone type have been known. Among them, various kinds of 5-pyrazolone type magenta couplers have been used. The 5-pyrazolone type couplers have had various problems of color reproducibility, because the dyes formed in a development process have a sub-absorption in and around 430 nm. For solving the problems, the pyrazolotriazole type couplers have been developed as disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,758,309 and 3,725,067. These couplers have many advantages such as few sub-absorption, the advantage of color reproduction, an excellent color developability and an excellent preservability in the presence of formalin.
However, the pyrazolotriazole type magenta couplers have the defect that the resulting color density is seriously varied by processing variations including particularly the pH variations of a developer used. The present inventors have discovered that the compounds represented by the foregoing Formula [D-I] are effective against the above-mentioned problems. It was proved that the preservability of a raw stock sample including particularly a sensitivity lowering was made serious by moisture, though the processing variations could be improved considerably in this method.
Silver halide color photographic light sensitive materials are usually applied with a yellow coupler, a magenta coupler and a cyan coupler in combination. As for the magenta couplers among these couplers, 5-pyrazolone type magenta couplers are widely used. The 5-pyrazolone type magenta couplers have had various color reproduction problems, because the dyes formed in a development process have a sub-absorption in and around 430 nm. For solving the problems, novel magenta couplers have been studied and the pyrazolotriazole type couplers were developed as disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,725,065, 3,810,761, 3,758,309 and 3,728,067.
These couplers have many advantages such as few subabsorption, an advantage of color reproducibility and an excellent color developability.
However, it was found that there produce the serious development process variations including, particularly, the serious color density variation produced by the pH variations of a developer used.
For improving the above-described defects, the present inventors have discovered the methods detailed in JP Application No. 1-299771/1989 and JP OPI Publication No. 3-126031/1991. However, the methods have not only any satisfactory improvement effects, but the problems of lowering a sensitivity and deteriorating an aging preservation stability. Therefore, it has been demanded to develop a technique for improving the development process variations without spoiling any photographic characteristics.
It became obvious that the silver halide color photographic light sensitive materials containing these pyrazolotriazole type couplers have the problem that the photographic characteristics thereof are liable to vary in the course of preserving them for a long time after they were prepared. Recently, in the photographic industry, the strong demands are being increased for improving the photographic characteristics of the silver halide color photographic light sensitive materials and, particularly, the silver halide color photographic light sensitive materials having few sensitivity difference in aging them and between the lots so as to have the so-called quality-uniformity. Further, with the advance of saving a silver consumption and making layer thinner for the recent silver halide color photographic light sensitive materials, the photographic characteristics thereof are seriously varied in the course of an aging preservation. Therefore, there have been demanded for developing a silver halide color photographic light sensitive material having few photographic characteristic variations in the course of aging preservation, that is those having an excellent raw-stock stability.